COOKSTUFF

It's sweet. It's tough. It's Momotaro, a pink hybrid tomato from Japan, also known as Tough Boy because it is strong-skinned, resists heat and doesn't deteriorate as rapidly in the refrigerator as other tomatoes.

For those who have always wondered how you cut something or spear it when you're eating with chopsticks, there is a colorful plastic alternative: Forkchops. They're chopsticks at one end and either a knife blade or fork tines at the other.

Available at the Hollywood Bowl and in Little Tokyo at the Japanese-American National Museum, Rafu Bussan, Winbell and Kinokuniya bookstores.

Zappier Tupper

If you become unfashionable, consider hanging around long enough to become retro. Tupperware is still making a world of plastic containers and clever utensils, as it has for decades, but now it's targeting young adults with zappier colors than gold and avocado: sunset orange, sea blue, pineapple yellow.

Available from Tupperware distributors; call (800) 858-7221.

COOKBOOK WATCH

A good guide for the coming summer fruit season is Linda Dannenberg's "French Tarts: 50 Savory and Sweet Recipes" (Artisan, $19.95), with photos by Guy Bouchet and color illustrations by Alain Vavro. Several basic crust recipes are given, so when you get tired of sweet tarts you can turn to the savories--among them, potato-and-goat cheese pie and tomato-proscuitto tart.